Tension screen



h. .FLORMAN ETAL TENSION SCREEN Filed June 17. 1955 April 21, 1959 uvvsurogs 6. Flo/man I B. M. Bowden ATTORNEY Fig.2

United States Patent i TENSION SCREEN Gary Florman and Bert W. Bowden, Sheflield, Ala.,' assignors to Southern Fabricating Co., Inc., Shellield, Ala., a corporation of Alabama Application June 17, 1955, Serial No. 516,224 2 Claims. (Cl. 160-328) restricting passage therethrough of light, air, weather,

insects and the like.

The invention relates specifically to flexible tension' screens which do not require special supporting frames, but the nature of such flexible tension screens permits them to be installed and tension applied for holding them in operative position but permitting them to be readily detached.

Prior structures have not been satisfactory because they were too complicated, diflicult to install and remove, expensive to produce, and were limited in use.

It is an object of the invention to overcome the deficiencies of the structures of the prior art and to provide elfective screen panels of greater utility which will protect from light, air, weather and insects.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and effective mounting means for the upper end or top rail and the lower or bottom rail of a tension screen which permits ready installation and removal and will satisfactorily support a screen regardless of its total width.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tension screen or panel with supporting structure which not only will not interfere with the installation or removal of storm windows but which provides a smooth exterior, as well as a screen which can be readily installed and removed while in the interior of a building and with attaching means efiective under all conditions for fastening the tension panel in place.

A further object is to provide a tension panel having adjustable rail structure to accommodate variations in the height of the window or other openings as well as to compensate for small angular variations.

A still further object of the invention is to provide mounting means for supporting under tension either a screen or storm window panel and which latter may be frosted, colored to repel insects or for other reasons, or modified in any other manner.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the tension screen as seen from the inside and showing the outside trim and the blind stop with the other window frame structure omitted for simplicity;

Fig. 2, a fragmentary section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the upper attaching bracket and the lower lever system in elevation as well as the device used as a storm window;

Fig. 3, a fragmentary elevation showing the tension producing lever in operative position;

Fig. 4, an exploded view showing the upper inverted T-shaped bracket and the U-shaped member by which the upper rail is secured to the top blind stop;

Patented Apr. 21, 1959 center hook which loosely receives a stud on the window sill to prevent bowing; and,

Fig. 6, a fragmentary plan of the lever and its supporting bracket showing the offset therein.

Briefly stated, the present invention is directed to a window panel of perforate or imperforate character which may be frosted, or of any color, as for example, yellow to repel insects, and mounting means therefor, including top and bottom rails and suitable brackets for removably retaining the top rail against the top side surface of the blind stop and suitable lever means at the lower end of the blind stop to cooperate with hooks on the lower rail to tension the panel.

The bottom rail is provided also with anotherhook having an aperture therethrough for cooperation with a stud on the window sill to hold and prevent bowing of' the bottom rail. The hooks on the bottom rail also serve' to guide a sliding plate mounted on the bottom rail to compensate'for any irregularities "in the angular relation of the window frame.

With continued reference to the drawing, a window frame is provided having a sill 10, outside trim 11, vertical blind' stops 12 and 13 and a top blind stop 14 (other portions of the window frame being omitted for clarity). A flexible member 15 may be of screen wire to guard against insects or it may be an impervious sheet for use as a storm Window. In either case it'may have reinforcing strands 15A in its side edges although the same may be omitted if preferred.

The flexible member 15 is provided with a top rail 16 which includes a U-shaped channel 17 into which the folded end of the screen is inserted. The rail 16 hasan offset 18 which causes a fiat body 19 to lie substantially in the plane of one side of the U-shaped channel portion 17, the body 19 being provided with pairs of openings 20 which receive the legs 21 of the U-shaped member 22,

' the legs 21 of the U-shaped member, and having a transsuch U-shaped member having a bight portion 23, eX-

tending at an obtuse angle to the legs and abutting the outer surface of the body portion 19 and being secured I thereto by means of a rivet 24 which passes through aligned apertures in the U-shaped member and the top rail. The legs 21 extend at an acute angle downwardly and inwardly as shown in Fig. 2. For cooperation with each U-shaped member an inverted T-shaped bracket 25' having a stem 26 of less width than the spacing between verse element 27 of appreciably less length than the distance between the outer edges of the legs. The U- shaped member is provided with an attaching flange 28 for abutting relation with the top blind stop 14 and is secured thereto by means of a screw or the like 29 whichv passes through an aperture 30 in the flange 28 and into the top blind stop 14 in a well-known manner. It will be noted that the stem 26 lies inwardly of the outer surface of the blind stop and the cooperating legs 21 serve as cams to urge the top rail 16 into intimate contact with the outer surface of the blind stop thereby also urging the screen panel into intimate contact with the outer surface of the vertical blind stops 12 and 13. A suitable number of T-shaped brackets 25 and cooperating U- shaped members 22 are provided to effectively support the top rail thereby making it unnecessary to have a strengthening flange at the upper edge of the top rail.

Secured to the bottom end of the screen 15 is a bottom a rail including a flat plate portion 31 provided with an in- Fig. 5,.a fragmentary plan viewshowing the'lower rail verted U-shaped channel 32 which is offset a sufficient amount so that the inner web thereof lies in substantially the same plane as the flat portion 31 and into the channel 32 and end portion of double thickness of the screen panel is inserted as shown, an outwardly and downwardly extending flange portion 33 is provided to increase the strength thereof as well as to serve as a water drip.

A sliding plate 34, arranged in abutting relation with the inner surface of plate portion 31 has an outwardly extending flange 35 which serves to increase the rigidity thereof. The sliding plate 34 is guided in its sliding movement by the shank portions of hold-down hooks 36 and a center guiding hook 37, such hooks being similar and including a shank portion 38 which is arranged in spaced relation to the plate portion 31 of the bottom rail to confine the sliding plate in position, the upper end 39 of each hook being oifset as shown in Fig. 2 and being secured by suitable rivets 40 to maintain the shank 38 in proper guiding relation. The hook portion 41 includes an inwardly and upwardly extending. cam portion 42 which has a compound curve as shown for cooperation with a tension producing cam lever 43. A lever supporting bracket includes an attaching flange 44 and a lever supporting flange or lug 45 to which the hold-down lever 43 is pivotally attached by a pivot pin or rivet 46, such bracket being secured to the blind stop by means of keyhole shaped slots 48 in flange 44 for receiving fastening screws 49 to provide for vertical adjustment of the bracket. The lever supporting bracket is provided with an offset head 50 which provides for clearance between the flange 25 and the hold-down hook 36 so that upon installation if the offset head 50 is generally flush with the outer surface of the blind stop 13, there is suificient room for the hold-down hooks 36 and levers 43 and 51 may be raised to the phantom line position of lever 43 shown in Fig. 3 to permit the hold-down hooks to pass under the cam portion of levers 43 and 51.

The tension producing lever 51 and lever supporting bracket 52 are mounted on the blind stop 12.

The center guiding hook 37 also serves to guide the slidable plate 34 and the bight portion 54 thereof is provided with an aperture 53 into which a screw 55 or other suitable stud is received, such stud being mounted in the sill and being adjusted so that the hook 37 may be applied thereover and will prevent inward and outward bowing of the bottom rail, the head of the screw 55 being arranged .to extend into the opening 53 a suflicient amount only to produce this function, the screw 55 being adjustable by rotation thereof.

From the above description it is believed that the utility and operation of the invention is clear, and it will be understood that the screen panel may be applied from the inside of a house by reaching through a window opening and engaging the legs 21 of the U-shaped members 22 and guiding such legs on opposite sides of the shank 26 of the associated inverted T-shaped bracket 25. The operation may be done with either one hand acting on the middle U-shaped member or two hands operating on the side edge U-shaped members. After the top rail is thus supported, the bottom rail is moved into its operative position and the cam-shaped levers 43 and 51 being in the phantom line position shown in Fig. 3, to provide clearance between the hook portion 42 and the cam levers and brackets 44, 52 permitting the hooks 36 to be placed under retracted cam levers while the portion 54 of the book 37 will pass over the top of abutment screw 55 and thereafter operation of the tension cam levers 43 and 51 will 'urge the bottom rail downwardly and the opening 53 receives the screw 55 while the earn-shaped portions of the hooks 36 draw the lower rail tightly against the blind stops 12 and 13 and the cam levers 43 and 51 produce the necessary tension in the screen. In the event that the tension is insuflicient, this may be adjusted by loosening screws 49 of the attaching brackets and lowering ,such brackets a suflicient amount to obtain the desired tension. Any necessary adjustment of the screw 55 can thereafter be made as required.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the above invention contemplates the use of a tensioned window member either in the .form of a screen or storm window panel with no space for appreciable air to pass when used as the latter.

If desired a side strip 59 may be applied to bind each side of the panel against the window frame. In order to make it possible to apply these side members from the interior the fastening screws 60 are of extra length. The use of these side strips is optional in view of the fact that when in position the panel is drum tight.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawing and described in the specification but only as indicated in the accompanying claims.

a pair of spaced apertures extending therethrough, a

U-shaped member secured by its bight portion in abutting relation to said other surface of said web and having its legs projecting at an acute angle through said apertures.

the legs of said U-shaped member projecting beyond said one surface at an acute angle thereto in the direction of said screen, an inverted T-shaped bracket having a flange projecting outwardly from the base of the stem, the transverse of said T-shaped bracket being of a length greater than the space between the legs of said U-shaped member and the stem of said T being of a width less than the space between said legs of the U-shaped member, a plurality of said U-shaped members and said inverted T- shaped brackets being provided and means to secure the T-shaped bracket to a blind stop of a window frame, said bottom nail having means for securing the screen thereto and including a downwardly extending plate of ing the length of said screen, hold down brackets at each .-end of said bottom rail and a guiding bracket in the centerof said bottom rail, each of said brackets including an attaching tab portion secured in abutting relation to said bottom rail and a J-shaped portion forming a hook arranged with the stem thereof in guiding relation to the inner surface of said extension plate, said center bracket being provided with an enlarged opening therethrough for freely receiving an abutment element on the window sill to prevent bowing of said rail, a lever-supporting bracket for each blind stop adjacent each end of said bottom rail, said lever-supporting bracket including a flange arranged in generally parallel relation to said screen and having a pivot thereon, a cam lever pivotally mounted on said pivot and having a cam surface for engagement with the bight portion of said hook, means to attach said lever- =supp orting brackets to the window frame in adjustable relation for accommodating screens of difierent lengths. 2. A tension screen comprising top and bottom rails,

with screen material secured at its ends to said rails, said top rail including a web having its inner surface in approximately the plane of said screen material, said Web being provided with 'a pair of spaced apertures extending therethrough, a U -shaped member secured with its bight portion abutting the 'outer surface of said web and having its legs extending at an acute angle inwardly through the apertures in said web, an inverted T-shaped bracket having a stern of less width than the spacing between said legs and having a transverse of greater length than said spacing and *of less length than the distance between the outer edges of said legs, a flange on said bnacket for attachment to the top blind stop of a window frame, said bottom rail including a plate of substantial width and of a length greater than the spacing of the .ver-

2 ,882,965; i i 5 6 tical blind stops, a sliding plate arranged in generally References Cited in the file of this patent parallel face-to-face relation to said plate and slidable for adjusting the length of said screen, hold down hooks at UNITED STATES PATENTS each end of said bottom rail and a guiding hook in the 885,673 Hall Apr. 21, 1908 center of said bottom rail, the end of the shank of each 5 1,672,896 Marshall June 12, 1928 hook being offset and secured to the upper edge of said 2,372,912 Rust Apr. 3, 1945 plate of said bottom mail, the remaining portion of the 2,599,725 Rust et'al June 10, 1952 shank guiding the sliding plate, said center hook being ,605,826 Lang Aug. 5, 1952 provided with an opening theret-hrough for freely receiv- 2,624,404 Burns J an. 6, 1953 ing an abutment element on the window sill to prevent 10 2,625,995 Rust et a1 Jan. 20, 1953 bowing of said rail, a lever-supporting bracket having a 2,638,163 Rust et .al. May 12, 1953 lever supporting lug for each hold down hook, a cam 2,676,653 Jensen et al Apr. 27, 19554 lever pivotally mounted on said lug with its cam surface 2,741,304 Burns Apr. 10, 1956 arranged for engagement with the bight portion of its associated hook, means for attaching said lever-supportl5 FOREIGN PATENTS ing bracket to the window frame in adjustable relation 826,787 Germany July 8, 1949 for accommodating screens of different lengths. 

